Wednesday, July 16, 2014

This was originally posted on November 18, 2008 and is re-posted here as part of my coverage of this year's Hugo Awards, where The Wheel of Time is nominated as a complete work.

The Dragon RebornRobert Jordan1991

So
far in the series the reader has known the Rand is, or will be, the
Dragon Reborn, the prophesied hero who will "break" the world even as he
saves the world from The Dark One. At the end of The Great Hunt
Rand proclaimed himself as the Dragon and those who were at Falme (and
lived) saw Rand battle Ba'alzamon in a vision in the sky. Rumors of
Rand with crude drawings of the battle are racing across the land. Sick
of fighting the dreams and unable to control saidin, Rand journeys to
Tear so he can somehow take callandor, the "sword which is not a sword"
in the Stone of Tear. This will be a major public fulfillment of
prophecy and more than the vision of battle, will proclaim Rand to the
world as being the Dragon Reborn.

In a bold move, except for a
small handful of scenes, Robert Jordan pulls the focus off of Rand and
places it firmly on Perrin, Mat, and the girls. Despite the fact that
novel is titled after what Rand is, and the fact that knowledge of Rand
permeates every aspect of the novel, Rand is barely in The Dragon Reborn.
It is strangely refreshing. Moreover, pulling the focus off of what
can be viewed as the primary and most important character of the series
could mess with the overall rhythm of the series, but somehow it works.

There is a lot to like in The Dragon Reborn,
some which only take on extra importance knowing what happens in the
next eight volumes, others feel important but we don't know why, and yet
others that are just interesting. Oh, and the story is good, too.

Jordan
does an excellent job at foreshadowing certain events, both for the
series and for the book. Early on, Lan mentions that "The Dark One has
killers you don't notice until it is too late", the "Soulless". There
is mention of balefire. Small comments, but there is a sense by this
point that Jordan is introducing elements that will come into play later
in the novel, or later in the series. With Jordan there is no telling
which, but in these two cases the elements will be introduced in The Dragon Reborn.

One
of the major storylines of this novel is that Suian Sanche, the Amyrlin
Seat herself, sets Nyneave and Egwene on a mission - to hunt the Black
Ajah in the White Tower. With Elayne in tow, this hunt takes them from
the White Tower all the way to Tear. Actually, even though the
characters begin the novel in different places and doing different
things, they will all end up in Tear together. At times this feels a
bit forced, but Jordan's storytelling is so strong that much of this
doesn't matter.

One of my favorite aspects of the series, and of
this book in particular, is the transformation of Mat. He begins the
series as Rand's best friend and a weasely little prankster. He turns
out to be ta'veren, one who
shapes events and pulls people towards him. Early on Mat yelled phrases
in the Old Tongue, but now, that Mat has been freed of the taint of the
Shadar Logoth dagger, he has been changed somehow. There is no
explanation if this is something that would have occured in his life
anyway, or if the dagger changed him. But now Mat speaks more and more
of the Old Tongue, has incredible luck, is able to hold off two master
swordsman with just a quarterstaff (excellent scene, that one), has
visions of past lives, and is proving to be one of the strongest
characters in the series.

Regarding Mat, the Amyrlin relates a
story of her uncle that perfectly describes who Mat is and who he will
be throughout the series.

The Amyrlin gave an
exasperated sigh. "You remind me of my uncle Huan. No one could ever
pin him down. He liked to gamble, too, and he'd much rather have fun
than work. He died pulling children out of a burning house. He
wouldn't stop going back as long as there was one left inside. Are you
like him, Mat? Will you be there when the flames are high?

He
could not meet her eyes. He studied his fingers as they plucked
irritably at his blanket. "I'm no hero. I do what I have to do, but I
am no hero." pg 183

That's Mat. Perfectly captured
in two paragraphs that imprinted so strongly in my memory that I waited
for that conversation ever since I first read those words.

There are character introductions in The Dragon Reborn:
Julian Sandar, Faile, and Aviendha. Important characters, each. The
Forsaken. We find out that more of the Forsaken are loose and in some
cities and countries - they rule.

The only aspect of The Dragon Reborn I
really didn't like was for the first time in the series, Nyneave began
to tug her braid in anger or frustration. It's become a long running
joke about the series, but it begins here, on page 93. Nyneave tugs her
braid eight times. Given that Jordan switches the POV chapters around,
it feels like more and it is only going to get worse.

One last
thing to note - the end of the book features a quote form The Fourth
Age. Ths is is a song fragment "Composed by Boanne, Songmistress at
Taralan, the Fourth Age". Taralan. Tar Valon? Does this relate in
anyway to the "Great Aravalon" mention in Lord of Chaos? It is something that will never be answered, but I wonder all the same.

Despite the absence of Rand, or perhaps because of it, The Dragon Reborn is
one of the strongest entries in the series (though I have immense
respect for Book 4, one sequence in particular). This is a point where
even people who later become disillusioned with the series are still
fully engaged and fully in. This is Robert Jordan still at the top of
his game and, to use a cliche, firing on all cylinders.